Welcome to Food for Thought
This week in our Food for Thought roundup, we’re giving the rundown on Ag Week activities and the Nutrien Ag Day BBQ. We also look at the CSU research that’s working to eradicate the New World Screwworm (again), what trickflation means for consumers, and how CSU Spur is growing the world’s most expensive spice on their green roof.
Happy Ag Week!
Show your Aggie Pride during Ag Week — the college’s weeklong celebration of Colorado agriculture — as we get ready for the annual Nutrien Ag Day BBQ and orange-out football game! Join us for events throughout the week:
- Ag Week Picnic (Tuesday) – Meet fellow students, faculty, and staff while celebrating the start of the academic year.
- Farmer’s Market (Thursday) – Explore a CSU-grown farmers market featuring local producers, alumni-owned businesses, and community vendors. Learn about regional food systems, food access initiatives, and the people helping shape Colorado agriculture while supporting local growers.
- Ag Fest (Friday) – Celebrate the final day of Ag Week and learn about the innovation, creativity, and impact of agriculture at CSU.
See the full itinerary of events here.
Nutrien Ag Day BBQ and Football Game
Since 1981, Ag Day has been one of CSU’s most memorable traditions, attracting thousands annually. Celebrate CSU’s 45th Ag Day at the Nutrien Ag Day BBQ, featuring locally sourced Colorado food, live entertainment, and activities for all ages. The event kicks off at 1 p.m. on the intramural fields, with food served until 4 p.m.
Barbecue tickets are $25 for adults and $12 for youth, with game + barbecue packages available. CSU students receive free admission to the football game and can purchase barbecue tickets for $12. Don’t miss out – tickets are expected to sell out, so grab yours before they’re gone!
Find more info on the Nutrien Ag Day BBQ website.
Screwworm flies steer clear of Agriculture Dept. traps
Jessica Metcalf, professor of animal sciences, was featured in The New York Times for her New World screwworm research. Metcalf’s project was recently selected for one of the USDA’s Grand Challenge Awards aimed at eradicating the New World screwworm fly.
Scientists are monitoring the pest’s spread using swormlures, which attract flies to sticky paper with an odor that mimics decomposing flesh. However, unlike other flies that feed on rotting flesh, the New World screwworm feeds on and lays its eggs in living tissue, making the effectiveness of the swormlures uncertain.
‘Trickflation’ sells less food at a higher price in containers that look bigger
You’ve likely heard of shrinkflation, the practice of reducing a product’s size, weight, or quantity while keeping its price the same. As food prices continue to arise, there is a clever new tactic at play that consumer advocates have coined a new term — trickflation.
“Trickflation is an example of product marketing where firms are attempting to distract consumers from price increases by changing the shape or dimensions of the product,” says Joshua Berning, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Saffron grown under solar panels doubled yields and penciled out at $60,000 in five-year test
Saffron, a pricey and labor-intensive spice, could thrive in agrivoltaic systems. Reece Bailey, a master’s student in Jennifer Bousselot’s Green Roof Research Lab at CSU Spur, found that saffron grown beneath solar panels with 40% transparency produced higher yields than saffron grown in unshaded control plots.
As policymakers and researchers explore the future of agrivoltaics, this study highlights the potential financial benefits of these systems for producers. The findings also suggest that semi-transparent solar panels with greater light transmission, which are currently uncommon in the United States, could create even more opportunities for producers to generate revenue while maintaining agricultural production.
CSU expert urging peach growers to test for resurgent X-disease
CSU Extension is encouraging western Colorado fruit growers to test peach trees showing symptoms of X-disease, a virus-like condition that appears to be resurging in the region. The disease impacts cherry and peach trees and cannot be treated – infected trees must be removed entirely. Insects may be vectors of the disease, and David Sterle, research scientist at WCRC-Orchard Mesa, says that the timely sampling of symptomatic trees is “urgent” as we head into early fall. The CSU Plant Diagnostics Clinic is offering up to $500 in testing support for commercial growers.
How a Western Slope Colorado water district is adapting to the drought crisis and looking ahead to build long-term resiliency
Following Colorado’s lowest snowpack on record and amid extreme drought, producers, water managers and businesses in mountain communities have been grappling with a water crisis affecting the rivers and streams that support their livelihoods.
Erik Wardle, director of the CSU Agricultural Water Quality Program, is working with producers near Yampa and Phippsburg to assess fertilizer management practices and help them better understand water quality and nutrient cycling in irrigated meadows and nearby streams. Access to this data has helped some producers improve their irrigation practices and even achieve productive harvests despite this year’s drought.
“There’s always opportunities to improve,” Wardle said. “And I’ve never met a farmer or rancher who’s not adapting annually anyway; that’s how they survive.”
Herb garden delayed but still in the works at CSU trial gardens
While planting was delayed due to crew shortages and wet weather, the Julie and Barney Feinblum Herb Garden should be mostly planted by fall, according to Chad Miller, director of the CSU Flower Trial Gardens. The garden will be located near the perennial trial garden, close to the giant Campbell’s soup can.
The herb garden is a gift from Julie and Barney Feinblum. Barney was influential in the organic food movement and is also known for his time as CEO of the Celestial Seasonings tea company and later, Horizon Organic Dairy.
Applause, upcoming events, and announcements
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Join AgNext on September 15 for the Animals, Landscapes and Communities: Building Engaged Grazing Research Capacity seminar series, featuring speaker Hailey Wilmer from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
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Undergraduate researcher Sonya Aldworth-Yang and mentor Dr. Devan Catalano on their study, Accuracy of artificial intelligence platforms on equine topics, published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.
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Louise Halaburt, Bianca Ruiz Chavez, and Liliana Lopez, Landscape Architecture alums, are travelling to Los Angeles later this month with their faculty advisor Lindsay Burnette, to accept the American Society of Landscape Architecture National Award of Excellence for Student Community Service for their project, Labores y Diseños.
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Mark your calendar for November 18 – Punya Nachappa, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Biology will be giving a Ram Talk, Your Carbs Are Under Threat: Protecting Wheat from the Devastating Wheat Stem Sawfly, at the Fort Collins Welcome Center.
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Join the Western Colorado Research Center-Rogers Mesa for the 5th annual field day on September 16. The field day will include research center tours, food, music, and exhibits by partner organizations.